fake teeth & braces: Novocaine

A tale of love, betrayal and denistry. Jean Noble (Laura Dern) is
Dr Frank Sangster’s lover and dental nurse – her teeth that are an example to his patients:
Susan Ivey (Helena Bonham Carter is his patient and becomes his lover – her teeth are less than perfect.

In one interview Helena said:

I got to wear funny teeth. And that’s really why I did it, so I could have funny teeth. I wanted to wear really, really funny teeth, but David [Atkins, the Director] wouldn’t allow me.

David Atkins explained what happened:

I hooked Helena in by saying, ‘You’re going to wear prosthetic teeth.’ She said, ‘I’m in. I’ll do it. I’m going to do it.’ And she said, ‘I’ll show up with the teeth.’ I wanted something a little crooked, a little asymmetrical, because it was fascinating to me that a dentist would attracted to a patient whose [teeth] are asymmetrical. So, she showed up for the camera tests the first day, to test wardrobe and lighting and makeup; she looked beautiful. Taking some shots, ‘Okay, Helena, smile. Let’s see the teeth.’ And she smiled and the teeth were totally – whoa! – frightening. Everybody jumped back a little bit.